Numbers 9:1-10:10 Lessons From Passover For Being Ready at All Times for Jesus’ Return.

Introduction: God’s holy days revealed the “shadows” of Christ (Col. 2:17). The “holy convocations” or “miqras” can also be translated as “rehearsals.” (Lev. 23:2). With the first four holy days, the Jews unknowingly rehearsed for the Messiah’s arrival. With the Passover feast, the Jews unknowingly rehearsed for the arrival of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Within the context of the book of Numbers, this Passover account teaches believers to prepare for His return.

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1. Overview of God’s First Eight Lessons in Preparing for the Journey to the Promised Land.

2. A Story Told Out of Order For a Reason. Compare Numbers 1:1 with Numbers 9:1-2.

3. The First Passover and the First Coming of Christ. Nu. 9:2-5, 12-14; Lev. 23:4-5; Ex. 12.

(1) The timing of Passover / Pesach. Passover was the first of three festivals that happened over one week beginning at sundown on the day of the first new moon after the spring equinox, sometime in March or April: “Now the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying,” (Nu. 9:1; Ex. 12:1-4). “Observe the month of Abib and celebrate the Passover to the Lord your God, for in the month of Abib the Lord your God brought you out of Egypt by night.” (Dt. 16:1; Lev. 23:5-6, 11). The Passover celebrated that, during the final plague, the shed blood of the lamb allowed each family who acted in faith to have death “pass over” their firstborn child (Ex. 12:12-13, 22-23). To protect the poor who could not afford a lamb, the rabbis followed these verses by allowing at least ten but not more than twenty to pool their resources to buy a Passover lamb. The Jews observe Passover during the month of “Abib” or “Avivi”, a Hebrew name which refers to the month in which the barley harvest was ripe. After Babylonian captivity, the name of this month changed to “Nisan.” (Neh. 2:1; Esther 3:7). The name “Nisan” is still used today. It was also the beginning of the first month of the religious calendar. It was the seventh month (eighth, in leap year) on the civil calendar. Both the changed name of the month and the beginning of a second calendar system had meaning. Both foreshadowed your “new beginning” in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17). Like the Jews, you also have two calendars in your life. You have the day that you were physically born. This is your civil calendar. You also have a day on God’s calendar when you accepted Christ and were “born again” (John 3:3-7).

The year of Christ’s sacrifice. The year that the Messiah would be “cut off” was also predicted in Daniel, 483 years after the rebuilding of the Temple (Dan. 9:24-26 – “69 weeks” with each “day” representing 7 years). Thus, the rabbis should have been looking for the Messiah when Jesus entered Jerusalem. The specific day and hour were also foretold in advance.

The date and hour of Jesus’ sacrifice. God also gave the blood of His firstborn son to allow judgment to “pass over” His believers: “The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”’ (Jo. 1:29). “He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; like a lamb that is led to slaughter, and like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, so He did not open His mouth.” (Is. 53:7). On the 10th day of the month of Nisan / Abib, the Jews selected the Passover lamb (Ex. 12:3). On the 10th day of Nisan / Abib, Jesus also entered Jerusalem on a donkey with people shouting “Hosanna in the highest” (Matt. 21:5-9; Mk. 11:8-10). This fulfilled a prophesy identifying Him as the Messiah (Zech. 9:9). On the 14th day of Nisan / Abib, the Passover lamb was to be slaughtered on the ninth hour (3:00 pm), counting from 6:00 am: “2 ‘Now the sons of Israel are to celebrate the Passover at its appointed time. 3 On the fourteenth day of this month, at twilight, you shall celebrate it at its appointed time; you shall celebrate it in accordance with all its statutes and all its ordinances. 4 So Moses told the sons of Israel to celebrate the Passover. 5 And they celebrated the Passover in the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, at twilight, in the wilderness of Sinai; in accordance with everything that the Lord had commanded Moses, so the sons of Israel did.” (Nu. 9:2-5, 28:16; Lev. 23:5; Ex. 12:6). On the 14th day on the ninth hour Jesus also died (Matt. 27:45-50; 28:1; Mk. 15:29; Jo. 2:19). What day of the week was the 10th? Christians believe it was either Thursday or Friday. Jesus rose on the “first” day of the week. This was Sunday (Matt. 28:1; Mk. 16:9). He also made clear that He would spend exactly three days in the grave: “for just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” (Matt. 12:40; Jonah 1:17). Counting backwards from Sunday, three days and three nights in the heart of the Earth would require that He be sacrificed on a Thursday, not a Friday. Friday would only allow for two days and two nights. Other Christians believe that He was crucified on a Friday because His body was removed before the Sabbath day, which normally happens on Saturday (Mk. 15:42; Lk. 23:54). How do we reconcile these verses? Both sets of verses can be harmonized if the Passover was a “special Sabbath” on Friday that preceded the regular Sabbath on Saturday: “Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jewish leaders did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down.” (Jo. 19:31) (NIV). Regardless of its actual calendar day, the Passover was a holy convocation where no work was allowed (Ex. 12:15-17; Lev. 23:5-7). Many further believe that it was a Tuesday when Jesus warned that the Passover and His crucifixion was two days away (Matt. 26:2) (E.g., Hershberger, Ervin, Seeing Christ in the Tabernacle, Vision Publishers (2010)). This again would be a Thursday. Also, being selected on the 10th and killed on the 14th would make for a complete week of seven days if He spent three days in the Earth beginning on the 14th. Yet, this debate is not a salvation issue. Whether you give thanks to Jesus for His sacrifice on a Thursday or a Friday doesn’t matter.

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(2) The unblemished lamb. The Passover lamb (the “korban Pesach”) had to be without blemish or it could not be used in the sacrifice: “5 Your lamb shall be an unblemished male a year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats.” (Ex. 12:5). Jesus also was unblemished: “knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, 19 but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.” (1 Pet. 1:18:19). At the end of this chapter, God further specified that the sacrifice could have no broken bones: “nor are you to break any bone of it.” (Ex. 12:46). This again foreshadowed Christ. He died on the cross without any of His bones being broken (Ps. 22:17; Jo. 19:32-36). To make sure that the lamb was unblemished, it was observed between the 10th and the 14th of Nisan / Abib. During this time, Jesus was tried by the High Priest and the Sanhedrin. But Pontius Pilot could find no fault in Him (Lk. 23:4; Jo. 19:6). He lived as a holy sacrifice for you. In turn, He wants you to leave a holy life without blemish or sin for Him (Ro. 12:1; 1 Pet. 1:16; Lev. 11:45; 19:2).

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(3) The entire assembly kills the lamb. The “people of the community of Israel” participated in the killing of the Passover lamb (Ex. 12:6). Jesus was also put to death by the people of the community of Israel: “Pilate said to them, ‘Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?’ They all said, ‘Crucify Him!’” (Matt. 27:22). Yet, it wasn’t just the Jews who killed Jesus. Every believer killed Jesus with their sins.

(4) The blood on the doorposts. After killing the lamb, the Jews put some of the blood on their doorposts to remember how the angel of death passed over them (Ex. 12:7). If a Jew applied the blood but did not believe in it, he or she would still be judged. By contrast, if an Egyptian applied the blood and believed in it, he or she would be saved. The blood of the lamb was available to all. Jesus was the door upon which the person must place the blood in faith to be saved: “So Jesus said to them again, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.’” (Jo. 10:7). “I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.” (Jo. 10:9). It is only through your faith in Him that you are saved. If you believe that your good works make you eligible to go to heaven, His blood is not on the doorposts of your heart.

(5) The eating of the lamb with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. The Jews were to eat the lamb with unleavened bread and bitter herbs (“maror”) (Ex. 12:8-9). Leaven is a symbol of sin because sin rises like the leaven in bread (1 Cor. 5:6-8; Gal. 5:9). Jesus was the unleavened bread. He was the “unleavened” bread because He lived without sin (2 Cor. 5:21). He also became our bread to sustain us. At the Last Supper, “Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body.”’ (Matt. 26:26; 1 Cor. 11:24). The bitter herbs reminded the Jews of their suffering in Egypt. They also remind us of Jesus’ suffering in having His blood spilled as part of the New Covenant: “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,’ [Jesus] said to them.” (Mk. 14:24; 1 Pet. 1:18-19; 2:24; Is. 53:4-12). Before being nailed to the cross, He was brutally whipped (Matt. 27:26; Jo. 19:1). Does your worship remember His brutal suffering for you?

(6) The commandment not to delay in eating the sacrifice. Because the Jews were told to flee Egypt, they were not to delay in eating the Passover sacrifice (Ex. 12:10-11). Jesus also does not want you to delay in consuming what He offers you. This was the first of seven times where this commandment appeared in the Torah (Lev. 19:6-8; 7:14-15; 22:29-30; Ex. 23:18-19; 34:25(b)). Jesus rose before the third day so that His body would not be corrupted (Acts 2:27; Ps. 16:10). We can therefore eat the communion that He offers from His body because it is holy. By telling the people not to delay until morning, Jesus was also telling them not to delay in giving the best of their time, talent, and treasure for Him. “But Jesus said to him, ‘Follow Me, and allow the dead to bury their own dead.”’ (Matt. 8:22). Are you acting upon Jesus’ calling in your life? Or, are you putting it off?

(7) The blood is the only means for escaping judgment. The blood of the lamb was not optional. It was the only means of escaping God’s judgment (Ex. 12:12-13). Without the blood of Jesus, none are righteous before God: “[T]here is no one who does good.” (Ps. 14:1; 53:1). “Do not bring your servant into judgment, for no one living is righteous before you.” (Ps. 143:2). “There is none righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God.” (Rom. 3:10-11). Only the blood of Christ can save you from judgment: “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12). The shedding of the blood at the altar symbolized the exchanging of His life for yours (Lev. 17:11; Heb. 9:22). “God presented Him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in His blood.” (Rom. 3:25). “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, . . .” (Gal. 3:13). What are you doing to thank Him? (Ro. 12:1).

4. The Second Passover and God’s Grace to Give Second Chances. Nu. 9:6-14.

5. Let The Holy Spirit Lead Your Life. Nu. 9:15-23.

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6. The Trumpets Foretell the Second Coming of the Passover Lamb. Nu. 10:1-10.

7. Live Your Life Expecting His Return at Any Moment.